Bushing for a fan assembly

ABSTRACT

A bushing for a fan assembly includes a through hole longitudinally defined through the bushing for receiving therein a journal of the fan assembly and grooves each longitudinally defined in an inner periphery defining the through hole to communicate with the through hole. The grooves are able to collect residue arising from friction between the journal and the inner periphery of the bushing so that rotation of the journal is not hindered.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a bushing, and more particularly to a bushing for a fan assembly. The bushing defines therein babbitt traps to receive grinding residue from the friction between the fan journal and the bushing so that the rotation of the fan journal is not hindered.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] A fan assembly includes a hollow frame, a base received in the frame and connected to an inner periphery of the frame via feet, a chip mounted on top of the base, a sleeve securely mounted on top of the chip, a bushing mounted around the sleeve and having a through hole centrally defined in the bushing and a fan with a journal extending into the bushing. When the fan rotates, friction between the journal and an inner periphery defining the through hole causes a rise in temperature of the bushing. After the temperature of the bushing reaches a certain degree, lubricant starts to lubricate the rotation of the journal.

[0005] However, despite the lubrication there will still be wear of the bushing and such wear causes fine residue grindings of the bushing material to be found in the fan. Not only does the residue hinder the rotation of the journal, the temperature of the bushing rises even faster because a friction area between the journal and the inner periphery of the through hole increases. As the friction therebetween increases, the residue and the temperature of the bushing also increase, which reduces the life span of the bushing.

[0006] To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide an improved bushing to mitigate and obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide an improved bushing having multiple grooves defined in a periphery of the through hole as babbitt trap so that the wearing reside of the bushing will be collected in the grooves and thus the rotation of the journal is not hindered.

[0008] Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bushing of the present invention;

[0010]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a fan assembly with the bushing used between the fan and the base;

[0011]FIG. 3 is a top plan view showing the assembly of the fan assembly in FIG. 2;

[0012]FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the bushing; and

[0013]FIG. 5 is a top plan view showing the assembly of the fan assembly with the bushing in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0014] With reference to FIG. 1, a bushing (10) constructed in accordance with the present invention is shown. As well known in the art, a bushing is designed to be worn so as to protect the journal from being damaged. Again, since the bushing is designed to be worn, grinding residue is inevitable in operation. In order to obviate the damage caused by the grinding residue, the bushing (10) of the present invention has a through hole (11) longitudinally defined through the bushing (10) and grooves (12) defined in a periphery defining the through hole (11) to communicate with the through hole (11).

[0015] With reference to FIG. 2, the bushing (10) of the present invention is in use with a fan assembly (20) which has a frame (21) and a fan (27). The frame (21) further has a hole (22) defined therethrough, a base (23) received in the hole (22) and connected to an inner periphery defining the hole (22) via feet (not numbered), a sleeve (24) mounted on top of the base (23), a chip (25) sandwiched between the base (23) and the sleeve (24) and coils (26) mounted around the sleeve (24). The fan (27) has a journal (28) extending out to correspond to the through hole (11) of the bushing (10).

[0016] With reference to FIG. 3, when the fan assembly is assembled, the journal (28) of the fan (27) is received in the through hole (11) of the bushing (10) so that when there is grinding residue created from the friction between the journal (28) and the inner periphery of the through hole (11), the grooves (12) (babbitt trap) will collect the residue so that the rotation of the journal (28) is not hindered.

[0017] With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, it is noted that a bushing (30) is shown and has a through hole (31) longitudinally defined through the bushing (30) and multiple rectangular grooves (32) defined in an inner periphery defining the through hole (31). That is, the shape of the grooves (12,32) is not important. The existence of the grooves (12,32) matters so that the rotation of the journal is not hindered by grinding residue.

[0018] It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A bushing for a fan assembly, the bushing comprising: a through hole longitudinally defined through the bushing for receiving therein a journal of the fan assembly; and grooves each longitudinally defined in an inner periphery defining the through hole to communicate with the through hole, whereby the grooves are able to collect residue from friction between the journal and the inner periphery of the bushing so that rotation of the journal is not hindered. 